It’s difficult to fit all that has happened over the past two years into 700 words. Exporting to China has been an interesting and rewarding journey, both personally and for the business. Trioni has been through rapid expansion since we started trading internationally in 2012, yet China was never an official part of our strategy; instead it was just a hunch that led the team to take advantage of the opportunity when it arose.
High regard for British products
In 2011, we exhibited Trioni (a range of organic dairy products) at the Anuga Food Fair in Cologne and met a distributor from China who was interested in our offering. Initial discussions showed us just how highly the Chinese regard British products – particularly milk. They see it as a health drink, recognising the quality and integrity with which we export our home-grown produce. Couple this with the far-reaching impact of the 2008 and 2010 China milk scandals, and it’s not hard to understand why British products might be highly favoured.
In fact, it was from the knock-on effect of these scandals that Chinese Organic Certification came about. Encompassing a selection of rules imposed by the Chinese government, everything from our factories to our packaging and labelling had to be assessed and deemed safe for import. It was a daunting process, with a number of obstacles to overcome, particularly with regard to paperwork. In fact it isn’t something we could have even thought about achieving without the support of the Welsh government, FDEA and UKTI, all of which helped us in equal measure.
Using insider advice
Family support was also of enormous help. My son Ben lives in Hong Kong and works for an investment company there. His advice on doing business with China was invaluable. Face-to-face meetings are an absolute necessity, as it makes it easier to negotiate with a translator in the room with you, as opposed to over email or the phone. And, of course, travelling for business meetings never felt like a chore when it meant I was getting to see my son as well.
Travelling is always a learning curve, whether for business or pleasure and we definitely learned a lot in our first few months exporting to China. There were many challenges including the paperwork, how best to build relationships in a foreign country, and China’s strict regulations for market entry.
We made our second shipment to China after the new laws came into play. Although these were needed, they meant additional testing and re-testing of our product before being allowed entry.
Researching the country and competitors
If you’re considering exporting, I’d always suggest getting out there yourself and personally checking out the market. Look into the country and competitors already established there. Be aware of potential import tariffs and the price competitors are charging so you can position your product accordingly. I went on a trade mission with the UKTI to China, which was invaluable in getting under the skin of the country.
Although visiting the country is a necessity, there are many things you can do with your feet firmly on British soil – sourcing funding is one of them. The UKTI and FDEA were, again, incredibly supportive in this and helped to point me in the right direction.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience of exporting and I am definitely looking to expand our presence further. Some things, however, will be trial and error. No matter what your previous international experience, until that first batch of product lands on foreign shores you can never fully predict what you’ll come up against. It’s an exciting time ahead for any business and although I feel slightly more confident and relaxed about the thought of expanding further, there will always be challenges to confront. But that’s part of the fun when you achieve it.
Laurence Harris is the founder of Trioni Ltd.
Read more stories like this:
Exporting to China: a guide for small businesses
Cultural complexity: the etiquette of doing business abroad
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